Method, apparatus, and system for reading, processing, presenting, and/or storing electronic medical record information

ABSTRACT

A method for accessing, processing, presenting, and/or storing electronic medical record (EMR) information on a touch-sensitive display includes reading EMR information, displaying at least a portion of the EMR information on a touch-sensitive sliding timeline, detecting finger swipe or similar gestures, and scrolling the sliding timeline so that a different portion of the EMR information is displayed chronologically on the touch-sensitive sliding timeline. The resolution of the timeline can be expanded or collapsed in response to pinch gestures. The timeline is divided into a columns, each column including icons representing medical related events. A second timeline having a different time resolution from the first timeline is used for navigating the medical related events. Different levels of detail regarding the medical related events can be viewed in different detail panes. An EMR access device and system are also disclosed, which are configured to access and present EMR information.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to electronic medical records, and, moreparticularly, to a method, apparatus, and system for reading,processing, presenting, and storing electronic medical recordinformation on a touch-sensitive display device.

BACKGROUND

Effective interactions between doctors and patients are crucial toestablishing a relationship of trust. In today's highly technical world,vast amounts of medical information are stored in large computerizeddatabases. Typically, such databases store the medical information aboutpatients as electronic medical records, generally referred to as EMRs.Such EMRs contain various information about patients such as theirmedical history, allergies, medications, diagnostic information, testresults, among myriad other types of medical events and information.EMRs have become an integral part of the evolution from paper medicalrecords to electronically stored medical records.

Conventional interfaces with EMR databases are somewhat proficient atreceiving information about the patient, categorizing such information,and storing such information in the database. However, due to themassive amounts of information stored in the database, and the inabilityto quickly access and use such information without using a complexinterface, it is difficult or impossible for doctors to efficientlycommunicate with patients, particularly when the patient is present inthe office and the conversation is occurring in “real-time.”

As patients become more Internet savvy and pursue medical information inadvance of conversations with their doctor, the desire to communicatewith their doctor at a heightened level of detail is becoming ever moreacute. Whereas in times past, the patient might be content with thesimple assurance of their doctor that things will just be okay, now thepatient might demand instant information about a test result, theprognosis after a medical procedure, the possible reactions to amedication, a meticulous explanation of what to expect during a surgery,and so forth.

But reading and presenting EMR information is tedious for doctors, andvirtually impossible for patients. Entry of information and access tothe EMR information is usually done through a generalized computer,through a complex web of menus and entry fields. Very little about thetraditional interfaces makes life easy for the doctor-patientrelationship. Indeed, the conventional technology in some ways throws upbarriers to this relationship because of communication delays caused bythe inability to quickly and conveniently share medical information withthe patient.

If a doctor wants to share a medical picture or record about thepatient, the patient must wait for the doctor to wade through the EMRinformation using a computer keyboard and a mouse until the sought outinformation is located, and thereafter, attempt to explain thesignificance of the information even though there might be differentunrelated data showing in the same window, thereby obscuring thepertinent information and lessoning the quality and effectiveness of thedoctor-patient interaction. Entering and storing information is equallyas difficult, and requires significant time and training so that theinformation is entered and stored without introducing inaccuracies intothe database.

These are only a few of the challenges presented by conventionalapproaches, which are impeding the wider adoption of electronicallystored medical data. Efficiencies associated with the convergence ofmedical record information and information technology advances aretherefore not realized in many situations. The costs associated withmedical care will continue to rise at a pace that would otherwise beunnecessary if greater efficiencies were brought to bear.

Accordingly, a need remains for an improved method, apparatus, andsystem for reading, processing, presenting, and storing electronicmedical record information. In addition, a need remains for improvingthe interactions between patients and their doctors. Embodiments of theinvention address these and other limitations in the prior art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a system including an electronic medical record (EMR)database and one or more EMR access devices according to an exampleembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a system including an electronic medical record (EMR)database, a middle-tier application, and one or more EMR access devicesaccording to another example embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a touch-sensitive user interface in one example modefor accessing and presenting EMR information according to someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates the touch-sensitive user interface in another examplemode for accessing and presenting EMR information according to someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates the touch-sensitive user interface in yet anotherexample mode for accessing and presenting EMR information according tosome embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates the touch-sensitive user interface in still anotherexample mode for accessing and presenting EMR information according tosome embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates the touch-sensitive user interface in another examplemode for accessing and presenting EMR information according to someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 illustrates the touch-sensitive user interface in another examplemode for accessing and presenting EMR information according to someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 9 illustrates a flow diagram including techniques for reading anddisplaying EMR information in a touch-sensitive sliding timeline,according to example embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flow diagram including techniques for reading anddisplaying EMR information in dual touch-sensitive sliding timelines,according to example embodiments of the invention.

The foregoing and other features of the invention will become morereadily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceedswith reference to the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the invention,examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In thefollowing detailed description, numerous specific details are set forthto enable a thorough understanding of the present invention. It shouldbe understood, however, that persons having ordinary skill in the artmay practice the present invention without these specific details. Inother instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, circuits,and networks have not been described in detail so as not tounnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. maybe used herein to describe various elements, these elements should notbe limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish oneelement from another. For example, a first gesture could be termed asecond gesture, and, similarly, a second gesture could be termed a firstgesture, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The terminology used in the description of the invention herein is forthe purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is notintended to be limiting of the invention. As used in the description ofthe invention and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and“the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless thecontext clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that theterm “and/or” as used herein refers to and encompasses any and allpossible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Itwill be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or“comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence ofstated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof.

Embodiments of a portable EMR access apparatus, user interfaces for suchapparatus, associated methods and processes for using such apparatus,and associated systems with which such apparatus can be used, aredescribed. In some embodiments, the device is a portable communicationsdevice having a touch-sensitive display, sometimes referred to as touchscreen. Such portable touch-sensitive device can be a mobile tabletcomputer, a mobile telephone having a touch-sensitive screen, a personaldigital assistant (PDA) having a touch-sensitive screen, or the like.The touch-sensitive display can receive touch signals from a humanfinger, thumb, or the like, and/or by using a stylus.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 including an electronic medical record(EMR) database 140 and one or more EMR access devices (e.g., 105, 145)according to an example embodiment of the present invention.

The EMR database 140 stores electronic medical information includingEMRs 142. The EMR database 140 can be populated using an EMR entry userinterface 150, which can operate on a general purpose personal computer155.

One or more portable EMR access devices (e.g., 105, 145) can beconfigured to access or otherwise communicate with the EMR database 140.The EMR access devices can extract EMR information 142 from the EMRdatabase 140 and/or transmit EMR information 142 to the EMR database 140for storage. The EMR access device can include an input output interface135. The input output interface 135 can be configured to wirelesslycommunicate with a device associated with the EMR database 140, oralternatively, it can communicate with the EMR database 140 through awired connection.

A local storage device such as a disk 130 and/or a memory 120 can becontrolled by a controller 135 of the EMR access device so that the EMRinformation 142 received from the EMR database 140 can be stored, orother medical record information produced by the EMR device (e.g., 105,145) can be stored. The memory 120 can be any variety of memory. Forexample, the memory 120 can be dynamic memory, static memory, read-onlymemory, random-access memory, or the like. The disk 130 can be anyvariety of magnetic hard drive, optical disc, flash drive, or the like.

The controller 125 is configured to process the EMR information 142, andalso control components of the EMR access device 105, such as atouch-sensitive display or screen 110. The touch-sensitive display orscreen 110 is configured to display the EMR information in an intuitiveand convenient fashion, as described in detail below. Thetouch-sensitive display 110 can receive touch selections from a humanfinger, for example, for efficient selection and presentation of EMRinformation on the display 110, as also further described in detailbelow.

The one or more EMR access devices (e.g., 105, 145) include a userinterface 115 associated with the touch-sensitive display 110. The userinterface 115 includes various touch-sensitive sliding timelines,informative icons, organized lists, detail panels, and so forth, tofacilitate the access and presentation of EMR information to doctors andpatients.

FIG. 2 illustrates a system 200 including the electronic medical record(EMR) database 140, a middle-tier application 205, and one or more EMRaccess devices (e.g., 105, 145) according to another example embodimentof the present invention. Rather than communicate directly with the EMRdatabase 140, the one or more EMR access devices can communicate withthe middle-tier application 205, which communicates with the EMRdatabase 140.

In other words, the EMR access devices can extract EMR information 142from the middle-tier application 205 and/or transmit EMR information 142to the middle-tier application 205 for storage. As mentioned above, theEMR access device can include an input output interface 135. The inputoutput interface 135 can be configured to wirelessly communicate with adevice associated with the middle-tier application 205, oralternatively, it can communicate with the middle-tier application 205through a wired connection.

The middle-tier application 205 is configured to map and/or translatethe information stored in the EMR database 140 into a format that isdisplayable by the EMR access device. In some embodiments, themiddle-tier application 205 is configured to cache some or all of theEMRs 142 from the EMR database 140, or portions of such EMRs 142, whichdecreases the response time experienced by the EMR access devices whenaccessing EMR information. In addition, the middle-tier application 205is configured to temporarily and/or permanently store informationreceived from the EMR access devices, and periodically flush the storedEMR information to the EMR database 140. Moreover, the middle-tierapplication 140 can re-organize the EMRs 142, or portions thereof, intoa format that is more easily accessible by the EMR access devices (e.g.,105, 145). For instance, only information that is deemed to be mostpertinent or most-often-accessed, can be stored by the middle-tierapplication 205. In this fashion, overall performance of the system isenhanced.

Other elements of the system 200 are described with reference to thesystem 100 above, and therefore for the sake of brevity, a detaileddescription of these elements is not repeated.

FIG. 3 illustrates a touch-sensitive user interface 115 in one examplemode for accessing and presenting EMR information according to someembodiments of the present invention.

The user interface 115 includes a patient information section 332,preferably toward the upper area of the interface, which can includebasic information about the patient such as an image of the patient 330,the patient's name 310, an identification number 315 for the patient,the patient's date of birth 320, among other suitable patientinformation. An expansion button or icon 325 can be located in thepatient information section 332, which when touched by a user of the EMRaccess device, expands the patient information section 332 into apatient demographics detail screen, as further described below. Anappointments indicator 305 can be located above the patient informationsection 332, that when touched by a user, causes the EMR access deviceto show a list of appointments associated with the patient (not shown).

To provide “at your fingertips” access to the EMR information, the userinterface 115 includes a patient history section 335. The patienthistory section 335 includes a first sliding timeline 365 in which aportion of the EMR information is displayed in chronological order in agroup of columns 367, each column corresponding to one calendar day orone calendar week.

The EMR access device can be configured to scroll the first slidingtimeline after detecting a finger swipe gesture 385 on thetouch-sensitive display 110 by the user's finger 380, or other extremitysuch as a thumb or stylus. Although the term “finger swipe” is usedherein, it should be understood that such term can encompass a swipegesture using a stylus or other tool.

The EMR access device displays a first portion of the EMR information inchronological order on the touch-sensitive sliding timeline 365, andafter detecting the finger swipe gesture 385 on or about the slidingtimeline 365, the EMR access device scrolls or otherwise changes thecontents of the sliding timeline so that a second portion of the EMRinformation is displayed in chronological order on the touch-sensitivesliding timeline 365.

It should be understood that the finger swipe gesture 385 can be in anydirection, and the EMR access device can be configured to detect theintended scrolling direction of the user, and cause the sliding timelineto scroll in the intended direction. The direction of scrolling ispreferably in a horizontal direction as shown in FIG. 3, although itshould be understood that the direction can also be vertical, diagonal,or the like.

The EMR access device can also be configured to detect an inward fingerpinch gesture 386 on the touch-sensitive display on or near the slidingtimeline 365 by the user's fingers 380. It should be understood that theterm “fingers” as used herein can include thumbs, etc. After detectingsuch an inward gesture, the resolution of the sliding timeline 365 canbe expanded from increments of days 367 to increments of weeks 367.Conversely, the EMR access device can detect an outward finger pinchgesture 387 on the touch-sensitive display on or near the slidingtimeline 365. After detecting such an outward gesture, the resolution ofthe sliding timeline 365 can be collapsed from increments of weeks 367to increments of days 367.

The patient history information 335 is divided into columns 367. Eachcolumn is correlated with one calendar day or one calendar week. Thecorrelated columns of patient history information can be horizontallyscrolled after detecting the finger swipe gesture 385.

One or more icons (e.g., 361, 362, 363, 364, 366), can be displayed inone or more of the columns 367. Each of the icons can represent amedical event or the like. Each icon can correspond to or otherwiserepresent the medical event, which occurred on the given day or weekassociated with the day or week column, respectively, in which the iconis located.

For example, a telephone call icon (e.g., 361) can represent a telephonecall placed by the doctor, patient, nurse, or hospital. As anotherexample, an office visit icon (e.g., 366) can represent a visit by thepatient to the medical office, hospital, and so forth. An oralmedication icon (e.g., 362) can represent an oral medication relatedevent, such as a prescription given by the doctor to the patient for aparticular medication. Moreover, an intravenous or injection icon (e.g.,364) can represent an intravenous or injection medication related eventsuch as a shot given to the patient. Similarly, a medical diagnosticsicon (e.g., 363) can represent a medical diagnostics related event suchas an x-ray, CT scan, MRI, or the like. The icons can be listed from topto bottom within a column in the order in which the associated medicalevents occurred.

These are but a few examples of the types of icons that can representmedical related events. It should be understood that other types oficons or graphics can be used to represent the aforementioned medicalrelated events. It will also be understood that other types of icons orgraphics can be used to represent different kinds of medical relatedevents besides those expressly mentioned herein.

The EMR access device can detect a touch selection of an icon (e.g.,361, 362, 363, 364, 366), and then cause information about the medicalrelated event to appear in a detail pane, as further described below.

The patient history section 335 further includes a second slidingtimeline 370 proximate to the first sliding timeline 365. The secondsliding timeline 370 is divided into a group of columns 371. Each of thecolumns 371 is correlated with one calendar month. At the beginning of acalendar year, a year indicator 372 can be displayed within the calendarmonth column corresponding to January.

The EMR access device can be configured to scroll the second slidingtimeline 370 after detecting a finger swipe gesture 395 on thetouch-sensitive display 110, preferably within the boundaries of thesecond sliding timeline 370. The boundaries of the second slidingtimeline 370 define outer edges of the monthly columns 371.

It should be understood that the finger swipe gesture 395 can be in anydirection, and the EMR access device can detect the intended scrollingdirection of the user, and cause the sliding timeline 370 to scroll inthe intended direction. The direction of scrolling is preferably in ahorizontal direction as shown in FIG. 3, although it should beunderstood that the direction can also be vertical, diagonal, or thelike.

The EMR access device can be configured to automatically scroll thefirst sliding timeline 365 to correlate in time with the second slidingtimeline 370 after detecting the finger swipe gesture 395 relative tothe second sliding timeline. Similarly, the EMR access device can beconfigured to automatically scroll the second sliding timeline 370 tocorrelate in time with the first sliding timeline 365 after detectingthe finger swipe gesture 385 relative to the first sliding timeline.

One or more icons 398 can be displayed on the second sliding timeline370 representing a day within at least one of the calendar months inwhich a medical event occurred. In other words, the icons 398 indicatethat there is an event on that particular day within each of the monthcolumns 371. The icons 398 are spaced within each month column accordingto the relative position of the day within the month on which the eventoccurred. This allows the user to know that there are events not on thefirst timeline, which can then be easily scrolled to.

The second sliding timeline 370 can include a shadow window 360, whichcorrelates to the amount of time showing in the first sliding timeline365. In other words, the shadow window 360 informs the user of thelocation of the first sliding timeline 365 within the context of thesecond sliding timeline 370. Put differently, the window 360 “shadows”the first sliding timeline 365 relative to the second sliding timeline370. The icons 398 that appear within the shadow window 360 correlatewith medical related events indicated by icons (e.g., 361, 362, 363,364, 366) that appear in the first sliding timeline 365. In this manner,events that appear in both the first and second sliding timelines canquickly be understood in the context of time, on both wide (e.g., 370)and narrow (e.g., 365) scopes simultaneously.

The EMR access device can be configured to automatically scroll thefirst sliding timeline 365 to directly correlate in time with the shadowwindow 360 of the second sliding timeline 370 after detecting the fingerswipe gesture 395 in the second sliding timeline. Similarly, the EMRaccess device can be configured to automatically scroll the secondsliding timeline 370 so that the shadow window 360 directly correlatesin time with the first sliding timeline 365 after detecting the fingerswipe gesture 385 in the first sliding timeline.

The EMR access device can be configured to detect certain touchselections to jump to particular areas within a timeline. For example,the EMR access device can be configured to detect a touch selection of a“first” event preference 340 on the touch-sensitive display 110. Inresponse to such selection, the EMR access device can automaticallyscroll the first sliding timeline 365 to the first calendar day columnassociated with the patient history information 335. In addition, thesecond sliding timeline 370 can be scrolled to the first calendar monthassociated with the patient history information 335.

Similarly, the EMR access device can be configured to detect a touchselection of a “last” event preference 350 on the touch-sensitivedisplay 110. In response to such selection, the EMR access device canautomatically scroll the sliding timeline 365 to the last calendar daycolumn associated with the patient history information 335. In addition,the second sliding timeline 370 can be scrolled to the last calendarmonth associated with the patient history information 335.

Moreover, the EMR access device can be configured to detect a touchselection of a “today” event preference 345 on the touch-sensitivedisplay 110. In response to such selection, the EMR access device canautomatically scroll the sliding timeline 365 to the calendar day columncorresponding to the present calendar day associated with the patienthistory information 335. In addition, the second sliding timeline 370can be scrolled to the present calendar month associated with thepatient history information 335. An “other” event preference 355 canindicate some other customizable location to which the timeline canjump.

FIG. 4 illustrates the touch-sensitive user interface 115 in anotherexample mode for accessing and presenting EMR information according tosome embodiments of the present invention. Here, the first timeline 365is condensed so that only some of the icons (e.g., 361, 362, 363, 364,366) are shown. The first timeline 365 can still be used in this mode,and can be scrolled either horizontally to change the time resolution,or vertically to change which icons are shown within the columns. Thesecond sliding timeline 370 is located proximate to the first slidingtimeline 365. Details of the first and second sliding timelines areprovided above and for the sake of brevity are not repeated.

A list of medical categories 404 is displayed, which is associated withthe medical patient 330. The list 404 can include, for example, CTreports 420, clinical notes 425, electromyogram and/or nerve conditionvelocity (EMG/NCV) results 430, emergency room (ER) visit notes 435,injection reports 440, lab reports 445, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)reports 450, medical and/or surgical history information 455, medicationand/or allergy information 460, operative reports 465, outside records470, phone notes 475, review of systems 480, and/or scribble pad 485,among any other pertinent medical information, or any combinationthereof. The order in which the categories are listed is exemplary andit should be understood that these can be in any suitable orderincluding alphabetical, numerical, or by some other sorted preference.

Each item in the list 404 corresponds to a category of medicalinformation associated with the medical patient. The user can select agroup of “favorite” categories from the list so that only a subset ofthe categories appear in the list 404. For instance, the EMR accessdevice can be configured to detect a touch selection of one of thecategories in the subset of categories 410 corresponding to one categoryof medical information. A star indicator 403 can indicate that thecategory has been selected as one of the “favorite” categories. This canbe repeated for other categories in the list desired to be favorites. Itshould be understood that the star graphic is but one example, and othertypes of graphics can be used to indicate the favorite categories.

FIG. 5 illustrates the list of categories 404 including only thefavorite 505 categories. In this fashion, only the categories that haveparticular importance to a user are displayed, which provides a moreintuitive and simple way to access and display the medical information.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, the EMR access device can be configuredto receive a touch selection of a “favorites” 410 button or iconcorresponding to the subset 505 of the list of categories. The EMRaccess device can further detect a preference for displaying only thefavorites 505 from the list of categories 404, and display only thesubset 505 corresponding to the selection of the favorites icon 410 inthe itemized list of categories 404.

Furthermore, the EMR access device can be configured to receive a touchselection of an “all” button or icon 405 corresponding to all of thecategories in the list of categories 404. In other words, the EMR accessdevice can detect a preference for displaying all of the categories inthe itemized list, and in response, can display all of the categories.Moreover, the EMR access device can be configured to receive a touchselection of a “recent” button or icon 415 corresponding to the mostrecently displayed categories in the itemized list of categories 404.

As mentioned above, each item in the list 404 corresponds to a categoryof medical information associated with the medical patient. The EMRaccess device can detect a touch selection for one or more of thecategories in the list 404 so that more detailed information about theone or more categories of medical information can be displayed. A firstlevel of detail about the selected category can be displayed in thedetail pane 490 of the user interface 115. In response to a touchselection of button or icon 525, a second level of detail about theselected category can be displayed in a second detail pane 690 of FIG.6.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6. When a user wants to knowmore information about a particular category of medical informationassociated with the patient 330, different items within the list ofcategories 404 can be selected so that a higher level of detail can bepresented in one of the detail panes. The detail pane 490 can display afirst level of detail about a selected category. The detail pane 490 canalso display a second level of detail, more detailed than the firstlevel.

Similarly, the expanded detail pane 690 (of FIG. 6) can display a secondlevel of detail about the selected category, more detailed than thefirst level. In addition, the expanded detail pane 690 can display athird level of detail about the selected category, more detailed thanboth the first and second levels of detail. In this manner, differentlevels of detail about a category of medical information is accessiblewithin a few or less touches of the touch-sensitive display 110.

For instance, if a touch selection for the clinical notes 425 isreceived, the EMR access device can cause a list of notes organized bydate as a first level of detail displayed in the detail pane 490. If theuser desires to see the contents of a note for a given date, then theuser can select one of the individual items in the list of notes withinthe detail pane 490, which can cause the contents of the note for thegiven date to be shown in the detail pane 690, thereby providing asecond more detailed level of information in the detail pane 690.

In some embodiments, the contents of the note can be displayed in thedetail pane 490, thereby providing the second more detailed level ofinformation in the detail pane 490. In some embodiments, a third levelof detailed information about the selected clinical note 425 can bedisplayed in the detail pane 690. In some embodiments, the detail pane490 can be expanded into the detail pane 690 using button or icon 525.It should be understood that different levels of detail of differentcategories (e.g., 420, 425, 440, 455, 460, and/or 485) can be navigatedin the same or a similar fashion. When the user is finished viewing thedetailed information in detail pane 690, the user can touch the “done”button or icon 605 in order to exit the detail pane 690.

FIG. 7 illustrates the touch-sensitive user interface 115 in anotherexample mode for accessing and presenting EMR information according tosome embodiments of the present invention. An expansion button or icon325 (of FIG. 3) can be located in the patient information section 332,which when touched by a user of the EMR access device, expands thepatient information section 332 into a patient demographics detailscreen 700.

The demographics detail screen 700 can include, for example, an image ofthe patient 704, the patient's name 706, an identification number 714for the patient, the patient's address 708, the patient's home phonenumber 716, the patient's city, state and zip code 710, the patient'sday phone number 718, the patient's date of birth 712, the patient'semail address 720, the patient's age 722, the patient's sex or gender724, and/or the patient's marital status 726, or any combinationthereof.

The demographics detail screen 700 can also include an indicator of thepatient's insurance 728 and/or preferred pharmacy 730. An insuranceand/or pharmacy information detail pane 732 provides a location in whichthe user can enter and/or display more detailed information about thepatient's insurance 728 and/or pharmacy 730.

The demographics detail screen 700 can also include an indicator ofrelated people 734, authorized contacts 736, and/or power of attorney738. A related people, authorized contacts, and/or power of attorneyinformation detail pane 740 provides a location in which the user canenter and/or display more detailed information about the patient'srelated people 734, authorized contacts 736, and/or power of attorney738.

The demographics detail screen 700 can also include an indicator of thepatient's employer 742. An employer information detail pane 744 providesa location in which the user can enter and/or display more detailedinformation about the patient's employer 742.

The demographics detail screen 700 can also include an indicator of thepatient's primary care physician 746 and/or “referred by” information748. A primary care and/or “referred by” information detail pane 750provides a location in which the user can enter and/or display moredetailed information about the patient's primary care physician 746and/or “referred by” information 748. When the user is finished viewingthe patient's demographic information, the done button or icon 702 canbe touched and the demographic window 700 is closed.

FIG. 8 illustrates the touch-sensitive user interface 115 in anotherexample mode for accessing and presenting EMR information according tosome embodiments of the present invention. When the user selects thescribble pad 485 from the list of categories 404, a scribble pad 800 isdisplayed on the touch-sensitive display 110. Background medicalinformation can be displayed on the scribble pad 800, including forexample, a title indicating the topic such as Knee 806. The title andbackground information can be related to a body part, a test result, amedical chart, a diagnostics image, and so forth. Additional information808 related to the title can indicate whether, for example, the knee isa left or right knee.

A “history of present illness” or HPI section can include backgroundchoices such as onset, context, severity, quality, and the like. Othermedical indicators such as achey, throbbing, burning, swelling, and thelike can be automatically provided as background information on thescribble pad 800. A user can then draw on the scribble pad 800 usingtheir finger or a suitable tool such as a stylus. For example, a circle810 could be drawn around a portion of the background information.Numbers or letters such as 810 can be added to enhance the information.Lines (e.g., 810) can be drawn to indicate certain symptoms are presentor not present, etc.

The scribble pad 800 can include an “EXAM” section including variousadditional information. For instance, an image, such as the image 814 ofa knee, can be automatically provided as part of the backgroundinformation. The user can add lines next to or over the image 814 suchas lines 812 to emphasize to the patient a particular area of interestor a particular issue, or to otherwise make a record for use by thedoctor.

A “PLAN” section can include various treatment or diagnostics optionsprovided as background information in the scribble pad 800. The user cancross out one or more of the options or emphasize another by drawingcircles, crosses, underlining, and so forth.

It should be understood that the HPI, EXAM, and PLAN sections andassociated background information are but a few examples. Otherbackground medical related information can be displayed on the scribblepad 800, over which the user can draw lines, shapes, letters, circles,crosses, and so forth, to de-emphasis and/or emphasis different portionsof the supplied background information. In other words, the suppliedbackground information provides a template upon which the user cansupply additional information.

In some embodiments, the scribble pad 800 is blank, or in other words,does not include the background information, and can be drawn on from ablank starting configuration. In some embodiments, the scribble pad 800can have any customized background. For example, a background can becustomized for a hand, a heart for cardiology, an eye for ophthalmology,or some other broader or narrower medical category.

Drawing tools 816 can be used to change the color of lines, shapes,letters, circles, crosses, and so forth, or to select an eraser to erasesome or all of these. The scribble pad 800 can include a line widthslider scale 818. The width of the lines can be adjusted by touching theknob 820 and sliding the knob 820 to the left or to the right to changethe line width. For instance, sliding the knob 820 to the right on theline width slider scale 818 can make a wider line, while sliding theknob 820 to the left on the line width slider scale 818 can make athinner line.

The lines, shapes, letters, circles, crosses, and so forth added by theuser to the scribble pad 800 can be temporarily stored as a file on alocal storage device 130. The user can close the scribble pad 800 byselecting the button or icon 804, which can cause the information to besaved. After closing the scribble pad 800, the file can be sent to themiddle-tier application 205 (of FIG. 2) and/or the EMR database 140 forpermanent storage. Subsequently, when the scribble pad 800 for thispatent is re-opened, the lines, shapes, and so forth that were added bythe user will be recalled and displayed along with the associatedbackground information. By clicking the cancel button or icon 802, theuser can exit the scribble pad 800 without saving the changes.

Other information can also be transmitted to the middle-tier application205 (of FIG. 2) and/or the EMR database 140 for permanent storage. Forinstance, changes made to information associated with one or more of theother categories 404 can be sent for more permanent storage. Suchinformation can include medication and test ordering information, formcompletion information, and/or encounter documentation. It should beunderstood that while the EMR access device 105 is primarily a reader ofEMR information, such “access” as described herein includes transmittingchanges or other information to the middle-tier application 205 (of FIG.2) and/or the EMR database 140 for more permanent storage and laterrecall.

FIG. 9 illustrates a flow diagram 900 including techniques for readingand displaying EMR information in a touch-sensitive sliding timeline,according to example embodiments of the invention. The technique beginsat 905 where EMR information is read from one or more EMRs by an EMRaccess device. The one or more EMRs can be initially located, forexample, in a middle-tier application (e.g., 205) and/or an EMR database(e.g., 140). At 910, a first portion of the EMR information can bechronologically displayed on a touch-sensitive sliding timeline. Adetermination is made at 915 whether a finger swipe gesture is detectedby the EMR access device. If YES, the flow proceeds to 920, and thesliding timeline is scrolled so that a second portion of the EMRinformation is displayed in chronological order on the touch-sensitivesliding timeline. The second portion of the EMR information can beentirely different from the first portion. Alternatively, the secondportion of EMR information can overlap with or otherwise containinformation from the first portion. If no finger swipe gesture isdetected at 915, the flow returns to 910 for further processing.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flow diagram 1000 including techniques for readingand displaying EMR information in dual touch-sensitive slidingtimelines, according to example embodiments of the invention. Thetechnique begins at 1005 where EMR information is read from one or moreEMRs by an EMR access device. The one or more EMRs can be initiallylocated, for example, in a middle-tier application (e.g., 205) and/or anEMR database (e.g., 140).

At 1010, a portion of the EMR information can be displayed on a firstsliding timeline. At 1015, the first sliding timeline is divided intocolumns, each column corresponding to a calendar day or a calendar week.At 1020, a second sliding timeline is displayed. The second slidingtimeline is divided into columns at 1025, each column corresponding to acalendar month. A determination is made at 1030 whether a finger swipegesture is detected on the first sliding timeline. If YES, the flowproceeds to 1040 and the first sliding timeline is scrolled so thatdifferent EMR information is displayed in the first sliding timeline. Inaddition, at 1045, the second sliding timeline is automatically scrolledto correlate in time with the first sliding timeline.

If the finger swipe gesture is not detected at 1030, the flow proceedsto 1035 and a determination is made whether a finger swipe gesture isdetected on the second sliding timeline. If YES, then the flow proceedsto 1050 and the second timeline is scrolled in response to the fingerswipe gesture. In addition, at 1055, the first sliding timeline isautomatically scrolled to show different EMR information correlated intime with the second sliding timeline. Otherwise, if the finger swipegesture is not detected at 1035, the flow returns to 1010 for furtherprocessing.

It should be understood that the determinations at 1030 and 1035 neednot occur in that order, but rather, these determinations can be made atdifferent times. It will also be understood that the steps described inthese techniques need not necessarily occur in the order as illustrated.

Although the foregoing discussion has focused on particular embodiments,other configurations are contemplated. In particular, even thoughexpressions such as “according to an embodiment of the invention” or thelike are used herein, these phrases are meant to generally referenceembodiment possibilities, and are not intended to limit the invention toparticular embodiment configurations. As used herein, these terms canreference the same or different embodiments that are combinable intoother embodiments.

The following discussion is intended to provide a brief, generaldescription of a suitable machine or machines in which certain aspectsof the invention can be implemented. Typically, the machine or machinesinclude a system bus to which is attached processors, memory, e.g.,random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), or other statepreserving medium, storage devices, a video interface, and input/outputinterface ports. The machine or machines can be controlled, at least inpart, by input from conventional input devices, such as keyboards, mice,etc., as well as by directives received from another machine,interaction with a virtual reality (VR) environment, biometric feedback,or other input signal. As used herein, the term “machine” is intended tobroadly encompass a single machine, a virtual machine, or a system ofcommunicatively coupled machines, virtual machines, or devices operatingtogether. Exemplary machines include computing devices such as personalcomputers, workstations, servers, portable computers, handheld devices,telephones, tablets, etc., as well as transportation devices, such asprivate or public transportation, e.g., automobiles, trains, cabs, etc.

The machine or machines can include embedded controllers, such asprogrammable or non-programmable logic devices or arrays, ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), embedded computers, smart cards,and the like. The machine or machines can utilize one or moreconnections to one or more remote machines, such as through a networkinterface, modem, or other communicative coupling. Machines can beinterconnected by way of a physical and/or logical network, such as anintranet, the Internet, local area networks, wide area networks, etc.One skilled in the art will appreciated that network communication canutilize various wired and/or wireless short range or long range carriersand protocols, including radio frequency (RF), satellite, microwave,Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 545.11,BLUETOOTH®, optical, infrared, cable, laser, etc.

Embodiments of the invention can be described by reference to or inconjunction with associated data including functions, procedures, datastructures, application programs, etc. which when accessed by a machineresults in the machine performing tasks or defining abstract data typesor low-level hardware contexts. Associated data can be stored in, forexample, the volatile and/or non-volatile memory, e.g., RAM, ROM, etc.,or in other storage devices and their associated storage media,including hard-drives, floppy-disks, optical storage, tapes, flashmemory, memory sticks, digital video disks, biological storage, etc.Associated data can be delivered over transmission environments,including the physical and/or logical network, in the form of packets,serial data, parallel data, propagated signals, etc., and can be used ina compressed or encrypted format. Associated data can be used in adistributed environment, and stored locally and/or remotely for machineaccess.

Other similar or non-similar modifications can be made without deviatingfrom the intended scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention isnot limited except as by the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for accessing, processing, andpresenting electronic medical record information on a touch-sensitivedisplay, the method comprising: accessing one or more electronic medicalrecords from an electronic medical record database; reading electronicmedical record information from the one or more electronic medicalrecords; locating a first portion of the electronic medical recordinformation; displaying the first portion of the electronic medicalrecord information in chronological order on a first touch-sensitivesliding timeline; dividing the first touch-sensitive sliding timelineinto a first plurality of columns; associating each of the firstplurality of columns with one day; wherein displaying the first portionincludes displaying one or more first medical event indicatorsrepresenting medical events having occurred during the one day within anassociated column from among the first plurality of columns; detecting afirst finger swipe gesture within boundaries of the firsttouch-sensitive sliding timeline; locating a second portion of theelectronic medical record information; scrolling the firsttouch-sensitive sliding timeline in response to detecting the firstfinger swipe gesture so that the second portion of the electronicmedical record information is displayed in chronological order on thefirst touch-sensitive sliding timeline; providing a secondtouch-sensitive sliding timeline proximate to the first touch-sensitivesliding timeline; dividing the second touch-sensitive sliding timelineinto a second plurality of columns; associating each of the secondplurality of columns with one month; locating a third portion of theelectronic medical record information; displaying, within an associatedcolumn from among the second plurality of columns, the third portion ofthe electronic medical record information as one or more second medicalevent indicators representing days within the one month in which amedical event occurred; scrolling the second touch-sensitive slidingtimeline in response to detecting a second finger swipe gesture withinboundaries of the second touch-sensitive sliding timeline; scrolling thefirst touch-sensitive sliding timeline to correlate in time with thesecond touch-sensitive sliding timeline in response to detecting thesecond finger swipe gesture relative to the second touch-sensitivesliding timeline; and scrolling the second touch-sensitive slidingtimeline to correlate in time with the first touch-sensitive slidingtimeline in response to detecting the first finger swipe gesturerelative to the first touch sensitive sliding timeline.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: detecting an inward finger pinch gesture onthe touch-sensitive display on or near the first touch-sensitive slidingtimeline; and expanding the resolution of the first touch-sensitivesliding timeline from increments of days to increments of weeksresponsive to the finger pinch gesture.
 3. The method of claim 1,further comprising: detecting an outward finger pinch gesture on thetouch-sensitive display on or near the first touch-sensitive slidingtimeline; and collapsing the resolution of the sliding timeline fromincrements of weeks to increments of days responsive to the outwardfinger pinch gesture.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein: displaying theone or more first medical event indicators includes displaying one ormore icons in each of the plurality of columns, wherein each of the oneor more icons represents a medical event.
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein the medical event corresponds to at least one of a telephonecall, an office visit, an oral medication related event, an intravenousor injection medication related event, and a medical diagnostics relatedevent, the method further comprising: detecting a touch selection of anicon representing the telephone call on the touch-sensitive display;displaying information about the telephone call in a detail pane;detecting a touch selection of an icon representing the office visit onthe touch-sensitive display; displaying information about the officevisit in the detail pane; detecting a touch selection of an iconrepresenting the oral medication related event on the touch-sensitivedisplay; displaying information about the oral medication related eventin the detail pane; detecting a touch selection of an icon representingthe intravenous or injection medication related event on thetouch-sensitive display; displaying information about the intravenousmedication related event in the detail pane; detecting a touch selectionof an icon representing the medical diagnostics related event on thetouch-sensitive display; and displaying information about the medicaldiagnostics related event in the detail pane.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein: displaying the third portion of the medical record informationincludes displaying one or more icons on the second touch-sensitivesliding timeline representing a day within at least one calendar monthin which a medical event occurred.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: detecting a touch selection of a “first” event preference onthe touch-sensitive display; automatically scrolling the first slidingtimeline to the first calendar day column from among the first pluralityof columns responsive to detecting the “first” event preferenceselection; detecting a touch selection of a “last” event preference onthe touch-sensitive display; automatically scrolling the first slidingtimeline to the last calendar day column from among the first pluralityof columns responsive to detecting the “last” event preferenceselection; detecting a touch selection of a “today” event preference onthe touch-sensitive display; and automatically scrolling the firstsliding timeline to the calendar day column from among the firstplurality of columns corresponding to the present calendar dayresponsive to detecting the “today” event preference selection.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: displaying a list of medicalcategories associated with a medical patient; receiving a touchselection of favorites corresponding to a subset of the list of medicalcategories; detecting a preference for displaying only the favoritesfrom the list of medical categories; and displaying only the subsetcorresponding to the selection of favorites in the list of medicalcategories.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein each item in the listcorresponds to a category of medical information associated with themedical patient, the method further comprising: detecting a touchselection of one of the categories in the subset of the list ofcategories corresponding to one category of medical information;displaying a first level of detail in a first detail pane about theselected category of medical information; and displaying a second levelof detail in a second detail pane about the selected category of medicalinformation.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein one item in the list ofcategories corresponds to a scribble pad, the method further comprising:detecting a touch selection of the scribble pad item; displaying ascribble pad on the touch-sensitive display; displaying medicalinformation on the scribble pad; receiving touch signals on areas of thescribble pad; drawing lines or shapes corresponding to the areas of thescribble pad associated with the received touch signals; and temporarilystoring the lines and the medical information displayed on the scribblepad as a file on a local storage device; and after closing the scribblepad, sending the file to an electronic medical records database forpermanent storage.
 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:displaying a line width slider scale; and adjusting the line width ofthe lines drawn based on the touch signals responsive to an adjustmentof the line width slider scale.
 12. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: detecting a touch selection of a patient on thetouch-sensitive display; and displaying demographic information aboutthe patient responsive to the detection.
 13. A system for accessing,processing, and presenting electronic medical record information, thesystem comprising: an electronic medical records database including aplurality of electronic medical records; a middle-tier applicationcoupled to the electronic medical records database; and one or moreportable electronic medical record access devices configured tocommunicate with the middle-tier application and extract electronicmedical record information from the middle-tier application, wherein theone or more portable electronic medical record access devices include acontroller and a touch-sensitive display configured to display theelectronic medical record information and receive touch selectionsassociated with the displayed information, wherein the controller isfurther configured to: locate a first portion of the electronic medicalrecord information; display the first portion of the electronic medicalrecord information in chronological order on a first touch-sensitivesliding timeline; divide the first touch-sensitive sliding timeline intoa first plurality of columns; associate each of the first plurality ofcolumns with one day; display one or more first medical event indicatorsrepresenting medical events having occurred during the one day within anassociated column from among the first plurality of columns; detect afirst finger swipe gesture within boundaries of the firsttouch-sensitive sliding timeline; locate a second portion of theelectronic medical record information; scroll the first touch-sensitivesliding timeline in response to detecting the first finger swipe gestureso that the second portion of the electronic medical record informationis displayed in chronological order on the first touch-sensitive slidingtimeline; provide a second touch-sensitive sliding timeline proximate tothe first touch-sensitive sliding timeline; divide the secondtouch-sensitive sliding timeline into a second plurality of columns;associate each of the second plurality of columns with one month; locatea third portion of the electronic medical record information; display,within an associated column from among the second plurality of columns,the third portion of the electronic medical record information as one ormore second medical event indicators representing days within the onemonth in which a medical event occurred; scroll the secondtouch-sensitive sliding timeline in response to detecting a secondfinger swipe gesture within boundaries of the second touch-sensitivesliding timeline; scroll the first touch-sensitive sliding timeline tocorrelate in time with the second touch-sensitive sliding timeline inresponse to detecting the second finger swipe gesture relative to thesecond touch-sensitive sliding timeline; and scroll the secondtouch-sensitive sliding timeline to correlate in time with the firsttouch-sensitive sliding timeline in response to detecting the firstfinger swipe gesture relative to the first touch sensitive slidingtimeline.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the one or more portableelectronic medical record access devices include: an input outputinterface configured to wirelessly communicate with the middle-tierapplication; and a local storage configured to store the electronicmedical record information received from the middle-tier application.15. The system of claim 13, wherein: the second touch-sensitive slidingtimeline includes a shadow window correlating with an amount of timeshowing in the first touch-sensitive sliding timeline.
 16. An electronicmedical record access apparatus, comprising: a local storage configuredto store electronic medical record information; a controller configuredto process the electronic medical record information; a touch-sensitivedisplay configured to display the electronic medical record informationand receive touch selections associated with the displayed information;a user interface associated with the touch-sensitive display; whereinthe controller is further configured to: locate a first portion of theelectronic medical record information; display the first portion of theelectronic medical record information in chronological order on a firsttouch-sensitive sliding timeline; divide the first touch-sensitivesliding timeline into a first plurality of columns; associate each ofthe first plurality of columns with one day; display one or more firstmedical event indicators representing medical events having occurredduring the one day within an associated column from among the firstplurality of columns; detect a first finger swipe gesture withinboundaries of the first touch-sensitive sliding timeline; locate asecond portion of the electronic medical record information; scroll thefirst touch-sensitive sliding timeline in response to detecting thefirst finger swipe gesture so that the second portion of the electronicmedical record information is displayed in chronological order on thefirst touch-sensitive sliding timeline; provide a second touch-sensitivesliding timeline proximate to the first touch-sensitive slidingtimeline; divide the second touch-sensitive sliding timeline into asecond plurality of columns; associate each of the second plurality ofcolumns with one month; locate a third portion of the electronic medicalrecord information; display, within an associated column from among thesecond plurality of columns, the third portion of the electronic medicalrecord information as one or more second medical event indicatorsrepresenting days within the one month in which a medical eventoccurred; scroll the second touch-sensitive sliding timeline in responseto detecting a second finger swipe gesture within boundaries of thesecond touch-sensitive sliding timeline; scroll the firsttouch-sensitive sliding timeline to correlate in time with the secondtouch-sensitive sliding timeline in response to detecting the secondfinger swipe gesture relative to the second touch-sensitive slidingtimeline; and scroll the second touch-sensitive sliding timeline tocorrelate in time with the first touch-sensitive sliding timeline inresponse to detecting the first finger swipe gesture relative to thefirst touch sensitive sliding timeline.
 17. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium including instructions executable by aprocessor, the instructions comprising: instructions for accessing oneor more electronic medical records from an electronic medical recorddatabase; instructions for reading electronic medical record informationfrom the one or more electronic medical records; instructions forlocating a first portion of the electronic medical record information;instructions for displaying the first portion of the electronic medicalrecord information in chronological order on a first touch-sensitivesliding timeline; instructions for dividing the first touch-sensitivesliding timeline into a first plurality of columns; instructions forassociating each of the first plurality of columns with one day; whereinthe instructions for displaying the first portion include instructionsfor displaying one or more first medical event indicators representingmedical events having occurred during the one day within an associatedcolumn from among the first plurality of columns; instructions fordetecting a first finger swipe gesture within boundaries of the firsttouch-sensitive sliding timeline; instructions for locating a secondportion of the electronic medical record information; instructions forscrolling the first touch-sensitive sliding timeline in response todetecting the first finger swipe gesture so that the second portion ofthe electronic medical record information is displayed in chronologicalorder on the first touch-sensitive sliding timeline; instructions forproviding a second touch-sensitive sliding timeline proximate to thefirst touch-sensitive sliding timeline; instructions for dividing thesecond touch-sensitive sliding timeline into a second plurality ofcolumns; instructions for associating each of the second plurality ofcolumns with one month; instructions for locating a third portion of theelectronic medical record information; instructions for displaying,within an associated column from among the second plurality of columns,the third portion of the electronic medical record information as one ormore second medical event indicators representing days within the onemonth in which a medical event occurred; instructions for scrolling thesecond touch-sensitive sliding timeline in response to detecting asecond finger swipe gesture within boundaries of the secondtouch-sensitive sliding timeline; instructions for scrolling the firsttouch-sensitive sliding timeline to correlate in time with the secondtouch-sensitive sliding timeline in response to detecting the secondfinger swipe gesture relative to the second touch-sensitive slidingtimeline; and instructions for scrolling the second touch-sensitivesliding timeline to correlate in time with the first touch-sensitivesliding timeline in response to detecting the first finger swipe gesturerelative to the first touch sensitive sliding timeline.